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From all directions the Leeds United fans came. Down the never-ending winding decline of Wesley Street. Over the bridge across the M621 at Holbeck. Up Elland Road from the Drysalters, where you duck under the railway bridge and the looming East Stand greets you like a warm embrace. And down the dank, pot-holed and graffiti-strewn ginnel that links Whitehall Road to Gelderd Road like a life-support machine.

This was no ordinary game. And even pre-match rituals had to change, even though the nervous tension, the nagging frustration and that desperate search for some defining joy was all there once the referee’s whistle blew.

And from all directions the Leeds United legends came. From southern and central Africa. From the Hollywood Hills. From all corners of Leeds and the UK. And from a serene existence of well-earned anonymity and obscurity.

Fans packed into Elland Road well ahead of kick-off

This was no other game for them either. They may have returned to Elland Road countless times before, but never in these numbers and never in these circumstances. And for some, never with Leeds United in better health.

It certainly helped give the first game after the club’s 100th birthday some energy and belief, rather than a sole reliance on sepia-tinted memories and a wallowing indulgence in wistful regret. There was plenty of that as well, but at least Leeds United are looking up at the stars from a position where things feel attainable again, and a competent and fully merited 1-0 win over Birmingham City was a suitable backdrop to a day that served to remind us what a beautiful beast we are so helplessly hooked up to.

So many players, not enough trophies, but a barrow-load of memories, and it was all on display as former heroes were paraded from every era they could be. At the end of a week where the club had been heavily criticised for putting a high price on fans’ dedication, and where personality had overshadowed what should have been uncomplicated and pure, the centenary game versus Birmingham City played out as a wholesome occasion, uncorrupted by marketing and a re-selling of history and handed over to the fans as an opportunity for healthy, honest and ruddy-cheeked affection.

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There has been much discussion as to what constitutes a ‘legend’, but this was no occasion for raking over who was worthy and who wasn’t. The best thing the club has done is unashamedly recognise every era, good or bad. We can’t change history and neither can those who took part. You wear your scars with pride as well as your ribbons. These players all chipped away at the coalface and hauled Leeds United through to a 100 year celebration. It’s been quite an effort to get here, and for every Revie, Wilkinson and O’Leary era, we needed a Raich Carter, a Jimmy Adamson and a Kevin Blackwell era to get us to where we are.

So it was fantastic to see the likes of Roy Wood, Jackie Overfield, Neil Aspin and Peter Haddock walking out to be greeted by the masses. It was great to see them mingling with Lucas Radebe, Tony Yeboah, Nigel Martyn and the gold-plated trophy winners whose names are up in lights. Every football club has its unsung heroes, every football club has its nowhere men; those people who played a part but history barely remembers. They are as much a part of the club’s foundations as anyone else, because without their selfless toil when the chips were down, where would the club be?

Peter Haddock, Brendan Ormsby and Neil Aspin were among the former players present

If you have only ever managed to get to one Leeds United game, you can still call yourself a Leeds United fan, and if you have only played one game for Leeds United you can still call yourself a Leeds United player. By setting foot on that pitch and representing the club, you have influenced its history. Even if you are Izzy Brown. Even in the Midland League when Leeds United had just formed, and even in the Second World War when games weren’t officially recognised, but you represented Leeds United in the only fixtures they were playing and helped drag the club through an uncertain period. Leeds United’s real existence was perilous and strife-torn then, and let’s be honest, the 1980s weren’t much different.

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So the tag of ‘nowhere men’ may seem disparaging, but it is meant to represent that gulf between being one of the hundreds of bricks that built Leeds United and being one of the lights that shines from the top. You can’t have one without the other. Every individual name on the Leeds United appearances list adds up to make ‘Leeds United’ a big name.

And we have players now who, when the club celebrates its 150th birthday in 2069, will be wheeled out for fans to remember via some kind of immersive digital tech experience where they can virtually hug Luke Ayling, Stuart Dallas and Gaetano Berardi. And doubtless future generations will quizzically ask their parents “who the hell are they?”

Kalvin Phillips celebrates his winner (Image: Alex Dodd/CameraSport)

And you can answer that they helped dig out a precious 1-0 win in the centenary game in 2019, and they racked up over 100 first team appearances and provided some vital solidity and continuity, but never quite became the star names. And you can also answer that Kalvin Phillips was once a nowhere man, but he managed to cross the line to become a somewhere man; a player that has achieved star status and will go on to great things, hopefully with Leeds United. A legend in the waiting if you like.

Phillips could have found a comfortable domicile along with the legions of also-rans; a player who showed promise, who had all the attributes, but never quite stood out from the crowd. He was that player until he met Marcelo Bielsa; a man who can transform seemingly anybody from a nowhere man into a somewhere man.

Leeds 2-0 Huddersfield

On Saturday Phillips turned in yet another effortlessly dominant performance and he even won the game; a fitting headline on such an occasion, because the match-winning goal was scored by the player born and brought up within a couple of miles of Elland Road.

And because, in reality, there are no nowhere men where Leeds United are concerned and Saturday’s centenary celebrations confirmed that with undiluted love and regard. Every nowhere man belongs somewhere and has become someone. They have played for Leeds United and, along with every fan, are part of the greatest story ever told. And there is no better place on earth to be.

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